I don't like the that time of possession argument. The opposing team gets the ball back right after a score. They can do with it what they will. If they go 3 and out, guess what, our D has stopped them. The other team gets the ball just as many times as our team. Our D stops them. Hence, our ranking.

The argument that we hold the ball more during the game just says the offense is just as good as the D that stops them on the next possession.

True. There are two sides to TOP. The Texans have the #1 TOP - and by a large margin - but they're not #1. The Chargers are 3rd in time of possession, and their defense sucks. The Broncos, alternately, suck in TOP, but their defense is quite good.

But none of them are the #1 defense. That distinction belongs to the Steelers, and Steeler fans who cannot help but qualifying this ranking or making excuses for it need to just enjoy the ride a little bit more.

I don't like the that time of possession argument. The opposing team gets the ball back right after a score. They can do with it what they will. If they go 3 and out, guess what, our D has stopped them. The other team gets the ball just as many times as our team. Our D stops them. Hence, our ranking.

The argument that we hold the ball more during the game just says the offense is just as good as the D that stops them on the next possession.

It has everything to do with the ranking.

Our offense, which is absolutely efficient (when Ben plays) and money when we need them to be, is only ranked 17th in the league in total yardage.

That is below league average, thus by probably about 80% of the people on this board,

OUR OFFENSE IS BELOW AVERAGE.

Go ahead and tell me how great they are, when they are ranked BELOW AVERAGE.

They can't be great, they are below average. How can you be great when you are below average?

Check out these offensive power houses that are ranked higher than the Steelers in total yardage, and thus by your standards better because statistically they rank higher.

I think by this point the defense has proven itself. The only problem is the lack of pressure but we are much better in coverage than we used to be so that makes up for it. Even then the pressure has been coming more in recent weeks.

True. There are two sides to TOP. The Texans have the #1 TOP - and by a large margin - but they're not #1. The Chargers are 3rd in time of possession, and their defense sucks. The Broncos, alternately, suck in TOP, but their defense is quite good.

But none of them are the #1 defense. That distinction belongs to the Steelers, and Steeler fans who cannot help but qualifying this ranking or making excuses for it need to just enjoy the ride a little bit more.

Chargers have the statistically ranked 8th overall defense in the league...

They must be better than you are giving them credit for, they are definitely top 10 so they cannot suck.....

I think by this point the defense has proven itself. The only problem is the lack of pressure but we are much better in coverage than we used to be so that makes up for it. Even then the pressure has been coming more in recent weeks.

Aren't you forgetting the lack of turnovers?

Keep in mind offenses that don't get many short fields probably aren't going to score as many points as they should.

I'll repeat what's becoming my mantra on this forum: Stats aren't everything, and they can be deceiving... but not at the end of the season, and certainly not after eight seasons. When Dick Lebeau has consistently fielded top-3 defenses for almost a decade and people still question his unit's statistical ranking, then it's just some perverse masochism on the part of Steeler fans.